NYNEX Strike Delays Service

A strike by 60,000 NYNEX electrical employees may delay University phone repairs and new line-wiring for up to six weeks, a telephone company official said this week.

But while the walk-out may slow regular service, work on Harvard's new multi-million dollar communications system, Intellipath, should not be postponed, said William Blaisdell, Harvard's account executive at New England Telephone (NET).

"When the strike started, we gave [the Harvard project] the highest priority status" in New England, Blaisdell said. "We brought in management employees to do the work that technicians would be doing."

Students can still expect delays in dormitory phone hook-ups, however, said Louise M. Dunne, a Harvard network services manager. Because of the strike, NET is asking students to submit service requests by mail or to call later after business hours to relieve understaffed phone lines, Dunne added.

The NYNEX strike, effecting telephone workers from NET, began August 6. Union officials said this week they are asking students not to pay their phone bills until the dispute is settled.

Barring delays, Harvard's Intellipath system should be operational by September 1990, giving students access to voice mail and modem services, said Morris D. Murphy, Harvard's associate director of network services.

In preparation for the switchover, new wiring has already been laid in 80 percent of the Yard dorms and several of the houses, Blaisdell said. In its largest communications project ever, NET ultimately will install 14,000 new telephone jacks in 175 Harvard buildings by next May, Murphy and Blaisdell said.

Once functioning, Intellipath will lower costs and improve communications flexibility at the University, Blaisdell said. And starting next September, he said, the University--instead of NET--will set phone service prices and control line installations.

College Officials Play Musical Chairs

College officials played musical chairs this summer, juggling responsibilities to fit old positions and fill new ones.

Ellen Hatfield Towne, former assistant to Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III, was named assistant dean of students in July. As part of her new role. Towne registers undergraduate organizations with the College and acts as liaison between the groups and Harvard Real Estate, which operates many facilities used by student groups.

"I'm ecstatically happy in my new position," Towne said, which she said was created to meet existing needs at University Hall.

Towne was also named director of the Harvard-Radcliffe Parents Association, which runs parents' weekends and a host-parent program for first-year students. The association was transferred to the Dean of Students' office for logistical reasons and because its director retired last year, she said.

Hatfield's old position is being filled by Elizabeth Lacovara '89.